Stories of
American Heroes -
Brought to you from the "Home of Heroes" - Pueblo, Colorado

Harold Ernest Goettler

TAPS

Fading light dims the sight,
And a star gems the sky,
Gleaming bright.
From afar drawing nigh,
Falls the night.

Day is done, gone the sun,
From the lake, From the hills,
From the sky.
All is well, safely rest,
God is nigh.

Then good night, Peaceful night,
Till the light of the dawn
Shineth bright,
God is near, do not fear,
Friend, good night.

Graceland Cemetery

Born:July 21, 1890 at Chicago, IL

Entered
Service in the US Army Air Service from Chicago, IL

Earned The Medal of Honor During World War I For heroism
October 06, 1918 at In the Air near Binarville,
France

Died:October
06, 1918 at the age of 28

First
Lieutenant Harold Goettler was pilot of a DF-4 aircraft in the
50th Aero Squadron. On October 6, 1918, Lieutenant Goettler and
his observer Second Lieutenant Bleckley went on a second trip to
drop supplies to a surrounded battalion in the Argonne Forest.
Subjected on the first trip to violent enemy fire, they
attempted now to fly still lower in order to deliver the
supplies even more precisely. The plane was brought down by
enemy ground fire, killing Lieutenant Goettler and Second
Lieutenant Bleckley instantly. In the course of this mission,
Lieutenant Goettler showed the highest possible devotion to
duty, courage and valor.
(Lieutenant Bleckley also received the Medal of Honor in this
action, a heroic attempt to provide critical supplies to Major
Charles Whittlesey and the men of the famed "Lost
Battalion" of World War I.